Troy E. Renck and Patrick Saunders add analysis and notes to this blog focussing on the Colorado Rockies.

MIAMI — After consecutive disappointing seasons and with his club stumbling through its third-worst start in franchise history, manager Jim Tracy finds himself the No. 1 target for Rockies fans wanting a scapegoat.

"Absolutely I do understand the anger. If we were playing well, the perception would be different. But when you go (3-15), everything changes," Tracy told The Denver Post in an exclusive interview. "More so than at any time in my career, I think patience is absolutely paramount. I am not changing who I am. We have some young people on our club, and we have to allow them to evolve."

Rockies fans are growing increasingly tired of waiting for the club to rebound. Since the final two weeks of the 2010 season, when they pushed for a playoff berth, the Rockies are 40 games under .500. Team owner Dick Monfort said Tuesday he's staying the course with Tracy, who was given an "indefinite" contract extension in spring training that guaranteed his deal through next season, but doesn't specifically state that he work as the manager.

"This is a man who is putting everything he's got into this team and for this organization, and he's wearing every loss tenfold more than anybody else is," Monfort said. "So, do I say, 'Jim, I have to find somebody to blame, and we ran a contest and you're the best one to blame.' That's just not fair, that's not right."

Advertisement

Multiple players defended Tracy this week, which sits in stark contrast to Clint Hurdle's final days as manager after an 18-28 start three years ago.

"Jim has always had my back," shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. "He cares. You can talk to him about anything. That means a lot."

Added outfielder Michael Cuddyer: "I believe he's the right guy. And it's our job as players to stay together and not let this tear us apart."

The Rockies (15-27) entered this season with more questions than answers, specifically in their starting rotation. The pitching has been abysmal, unable to weather the injury and ineffectiveness of Jhoulys Chacin and the absence of Jeremy Guthrie for three starts, followed by his inability to perform at Coors Field. As it stands, three-fifths of the rotation — Juan Nicasio, Alex White and Christian Friedrich — has less than one year of big-league experience.

The offense has been unable to overcome the awful starting pitching at home (5.9 average runs scored vs. 5.72 ERA) and the pitching has been unable to camouflage the poor hitting on the road (3.2 runs vs. 4.32 ERA). Tracy said he's not considering changes with pitching coach Bob Apodaca and hitting instructor Carney Lansford. He cited their work ethic and players' response to their message.

"There's no finger pointing. I am absolutely not going to do that. When you look at the team, have I continued to see effort? Yes," Tracy said. "There would be a difference if we were getting boat-raced every night. We have a lot of photo finishes. Those are things I look for. Have I seen anybody phoning it in? No."

Missy Franklin, Jenny Simpson, Adeline Gray and three other Colorado women could be big players at the 2016 Rio OlympicsWhen people ask Missy Franklin for her thoughts about the Summer Olympics that will begin a year from Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, she hangs a warning label on her answer.